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Thursday, May 16, 2013

Two Devotions to Mary

Mary, Untier of Knots

In honor of the month of May, here are two
beautiful devotions to Mary. I’d love to
hear the results if you participate in either of these.

Pope
Francis’s Devotion

The first
one,“Mary Undoer of Knots” also known
as “Our Lady Untier of Knots," I came across in Dr. Matthew Bunson’s new book, Pope Francis.Bunson, one of America’s leading authorities
on the papacy and the Church, gives a personal glimpse into the life
of Jorge Mario Bergoglio from his early days as a “street priest” to his
work as a Cardinal, and finally his appointment as Pope Francis.

In his book, he writes: “During his time in
Germany in the early 1980s, Fr. Jorge Mario Bergoglio saw an early
eighteenth-century painting by Johann Schmidtner in the Church of Saint Peter
Perlach, in Augsburg. The painting is of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the
unusual title of the “Untier of Knots.” Devotion to the Blessed Mother under
that name dates at least to the early part of the seventeenth century when a
priest saved the marriage of a German noble couple by using the image of knots
being unraveled to show the way to marital peace. The image of Mary as an
untier of knots was first cast by Saint Irenaeus of Lyons when he spoke of the
knot of Eve’s disobedience being loosed by the obedience of Mary (Adversus haerses,
Book III, chapter 22).

“Years later, the grateful grandson of the
married couple donated an altarpiece to the long-dead priest’s church, and the
painter Schmittdner, being aware of the family story, depicted the Virgin Mary
as the Knoten- löserin, “Untier of Knots.”

“Bergoglio was so struck by the work that he
purchased a copy and brought it back to Argentina. Through his encouragement,
the Virgen Desatanudos, as she is known, became increasingly popular,
growing even more so after his appointment as Archbishop of Buenos Aires. The
Blessed Mother under this title is a source of comfort, strength, and
inspiration for those facing the many difficulties — the knots — of life”

The next
devotion “Our
Lady of Surprises” was reported on Spirit Daily. Although I had never heard of it until recently, it
makes sense. After all, doesn't God surprise us all at times? How often does it seem as though nothing is
happening when we pray but then suddenly, everything changes?

The Bible is full of surprises. To name just a few: the shepherd David kills the giant Goliath and becomes King, the parting of the Red Sea, manna from heaven, and getting water from a rock. In the New Testament, the apostles, while
still fishermen, came up empty at Lake Gennesaret after fishing all night. Then, they pulled in an overflowing net after Jesus told
them to let it back down. There was Peter
walking on water, Lazarus surprising even his sisters who were followers of
Jesus, and so many other miracles.

Our Blessed Mother was present for many of these
surprises. The very first recorded miracle of Jesus was through the
intercession of his Mother when she sought his help at the Wedding of
Cana after the wine had run out. The water was turned into wine and everyone was so surprised that it seemed the best wine had been saved for last.

"Our Lady of Surprises" Prayer

“O
Mary my mother and Our Lady of surprises, what a happy joy you caused the wedding
guests when you asked your divine Son to work the miracle of water into wine.
What a happy surprise for them since they thought the wine had run dry. I, too Mary, love surprises and as your
child, may I ask you to favor me with one today? I ask this only because you are my ever
caring mother.”

Alexander House

Patti Maguire Armstrong

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